Roger Crouse, assistant director of the Drinking Water Program, said Wednesday that he advised district officials they could draw water from the reservoir around noon today and submit it to Augusta for testing. Provided the water quality meets state standards, the earliest the ban could be lifted would be around noon Friday, he said.

The boil water order went into effect last Friday when utility district officials discovered that the reservoir was nearly empty. A deeper than usual frost, which caused leaks in older water mains, and faucets that were left on during the cold snap to prevent freeze-ups, contributed to the low water supply, according to Greg Brawn, chairman of the utility district.

During this time, the reservoir's water level drained to about 28 inches, compared to a normal level of 16 to 17 feet. The water level in the reservoir is now back to 16 feet, officials said Wednesday.

When the district learned of the low level, it filled the reservoir with unfiltered water from Lake Wassookeag to ensure there would be enough water for fire suppression efforts. Though it was unfiltered, the water was chlorinated.

Because of that bypass effort, the district was required to wait 48 hours after the filtration system was back on line to allow sufficient time for the chlorination process to work before testing the water quality. The filtration system was back on line Tuesday.

Crouse said that once the district submits the water samples to the Augusta office, it will require an additional waiting period of 24 hours.

Brawn called the experience frustrating. "Under the circumstances, it's kind of trying," he said. The district has had calls daily from consumers inquiring about the order.

He said local officials do not expect any problems with the water quality during the testing and expect the ban to be lifted Friday afternoon.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Thursday, February 27, 2003 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."